


Speech Of The Angels

by uselesspaperclip



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Band Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-22
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2017-12-27 08:54:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/976859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uselesspaperclip/pseuds/uselesspaperclip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Music is well said to be the speech of angels" -Thomas Carlyle<br/>Michael has been working security at a concert venue in Austin for awhile now, when a British prick in skinny jeans shows up and changes everything in a single night. A band AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Buy Me A Drink First"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've literally never written a fic before in all my life. So y'know. Assume I know what I am doing and that everything that happens makes total and complete sense. I'll be adding in more characters. Please leave feedback so I know what to work on as I continue this! Thanks!

Michael Jones woke up with a low groan. The afternoon sunlight peeking through the windows of his shitty apartment was too bright, and the alarm buzzing in his ears was too loud. Maybe that’s just because he was hungover. Again.  


It was 2:30 pm. Way too early to get out of bed after being out until sunrise. He vaguely recalled crashing through his door about the same time his neighbor was leaving for his unfulfilling desk job. But that could just be a memory from the other dozen times its happened.  


Whatever. He had a show to work, for some British pop star or something. Probably one of those no talent teenagers that gets paid millions to croon to tweens in his “super sexy accent!” Bullshit. But, it paid the bills. And keeping crazed fans from vaulting onto the stage was a fairly fun job, right?  


After preparing himself for the dizziness of walking to the shower, Michael slowly swung his legs out of bed, and shuffled into the bathroom.  


He hadn't set out to be security for the venue, an average sized concert arena, but considering he wasn’t interested in much besides music and video games there weren’t a whole lot of jobs out there that were particularly interesting to him. And he wasn’t talented enough to make it big. Drumming was more of a hobby, a way to relieve some stress.  


His grogginess lifting, Michael stumbled out of the shower and went back into his bedroom to get some clothes. Dressing for the job wasn’t particularly difficult, the only requirement being his black security shirt. Tugging on a pair of jeans and putting on shoes, he grabbed his keys and wandered out to his car, popping a few Advil in the process.

...

When he arrived, he climbed the back stairs up to the office to get his pass from Sorola, who lead the team that strictly worked the arena. Not that there was much of a team. There was Michael, and a few other interns who were obviously inspiring musicians that were never going anywhere. They tended to hang around after the shows and try to buddy up to the artists, where as Michael showed up, did his job, and got drunk with whoever was going out that night.  


Gus wasn’t the chatty type, and so despite all his efforts all Michael got was a friendly,  


“Go do your fucking job, asshole.”  


And so he did. And all that entailed was wandering around the venue and waiting for the performers to show up. 

…

The opening act was escorted backstage first, as they had to get their shit set up. Most of main band's things were already set up as their roadies had come in earlier. Michael generally headed on out by now to start worrying about crowd control, but not today.  


The British pop prick was here early, and damn if he wasn’t the sexiest person Michael had ever seen.  


His sandy hair was straightened over one part of his face, shining in the dim-lighting. Green eyes peeped out from under his fringe, and he had just a bit of blonde stubble. He was clad in skinny jeans that didn’t leave much to the imagination, and a simple white t-shirt, but it worked. And it worked well, clearly.  


 _“Damn it, Jones,”_ thought Michael, _“you better stop this train of thought right now. It’s not worth it.”_  


Then his little pep talk was shot to shit when the star of the evening caught Michael staring at him.  


With a little grin, he sauntered over to Michael, his roadies swarming about.  


“Hello there,” he said, and Michael was ashamed of himself for being a little bit enthralled by his accent. “Security, yeah? Are you gonna protect me? Make sure no one does anything funny?”  


Even if he was more than a bit attracted to this man, he surely wasn’t going to show it.  


“No, I’m just standing backstage with a security pass for shits and giggles,” he stated. “Who the hell are you anyway? I’ve literally never heard of you before today.”  


“Aw, really? I am hurt. Truly hurt there...eh…” he trailed off, waiting for a name.  


“Michael Jones.”  


“Aw, Michael,” oh God he pronounced his name so dumb why was it so hot? “How can you not know who I am Michael! I’m famous now or something. I have no idea how it happened!”  


“Yeah, it’s a shocker for us all, buddy. Now what the fuck is your name?”  


“There’s no need to swear about it, Michael! I’m Gavin. Gavin Free.” Oh, and what a lovely name that was. Michael was struggling to come up with a witty comment about stars and their pretty fake names, when one of Gavin’s techs came up to him.  


“Hey, Gavin, have you seen Geoff around?”  


“Nah, not since we showed up and scuttled off to do whatever he does to set all my stuff up. Why what do you need, Ryan?”  


“Well you see, my wife called this morning with some news and I uh...well...I need to leave the tour.” Gavin looked a bit panicked, and the techie looked a bit sheepish. Michael knew that for a new artist, finding good people to handle your shit could be kinda hard. But it wasn’t his place to interfere. He really was getting ready to go and start doing his actual job, when he overheard Gavin cry out,  


“Ryan! Where am I supposed to find another drum tech! What’s so important that you need to go home!”  


“I’m having a kid, man! I can’t just leave my pregnant wife alone with our two year old.” At this Gavin sighed and nodded. Michael smiled a little to himself; he wasn’t a complete asshole to his roadies.  


“Okay, okay. That’s fine, I get it. Go try to find Geoff. Tell him I’m okay with you going and sort out a flight back home, alright? Give your wife my best,” Gavin said, smiling, albeit a bit forcefully. Ryan just nodded and headed off.  


The rational part of Michael’s brain told him to just leave, and go outside, and do his job, but instead he walked back over to Gavin.  


“I didn’t mean to…uh…listen in or anything. But I just figured I’d let you know that I know my way around a drum set, if…y’know. You need some help or something,” God, he sounded like such a fucking idiot. But Gavin’s face lit up.  


“Really, Michael! That would be toppers! I like Ryan and all, but to be completely honest he creeps me out a bit. I really ought to talk to Geoff, but how about instead of doing whatever you should be doing, you come with me real quick and bang on some drums for soundcheck. Dan is a wanker and is probably still asleep on the bus or something, so I could use your help!” Michael’s eyes widened.  


“Are you serious, dude? You don’t even know me, and you’re gonna let me play your drums?” Gavin stared at him incredulously.  


“Yeah, why not? You’re not gonna break them are you? And if you’re any good I’ll take you along with me. You’d definitely be the sexiest member of the crew,” he said with a wink. Oh God that was way too hot.  


_“I’m so fucked,”,_ thought Michael.  


“Look, I should probably talk to my boss first, he needs to know to put someone in for me and stuff-”  


“I’ll send someone to do that for you, go get some drum sticks,” Gavin said, waving at one of the roadies and gesturing in the direction of his instruments. Michael certainly wasn’t going to say no to a pretty pop star giving him orders to make music. He got a few looks from the techies, the one with the massive red beard almost barricaded Michael from the equipment, until Gavin gave him the okay.  


Twirling the drum sticks between his fingers, he followed Gavin out onto the stage. The opening act had just finished their soundcheck. A short Hispanic guy also appeared, holding a bass.  


“Gav, who the hell is that?” He asked, nodding at Michael. “Got yourself a boyfriend? Nice job, dude. He’s cute.” Michael could feel heat rising up to his face. God damn it.  


“Yeah, Ray. The wedding’s tomorrow if you wanna come,” Gavin said, laughing. “This is Michael, he can play drums!”  


“I’m pretty sure we have people to do that already,” Ray said, a questioning look on his face.  


“Well, we still have Dan. But he’s a lazy prick. And Ryan is bailing to have a baby and is probably being harassed by Geoff right now, so Michael here is gonna soundcheck for us. And then join us on the rest of the tour,” Gavin said, grinning.  


“Whoa man, I never said I’d leave Austin-”  


“Aw but Michael! I need you my little Michael,” Gavin whimpered, moving closer to him. Michael melted a little bit. Fucking puppy-eyed prick, flirting and ordering him about within fifteen minutes of meeting him.  


“You haven’t even heard me play, dipshit!” Michael cried, gesturing at the drum set.  


“So go play, Michael!” Gavin shrieked, and started pushing him towards the platform. Michael shook him off, and glared at him. Then, he went up to the set and started to play. He should probably be nervous, considering Sorola would lose his shit if he saw Michael, and because Michael didn’t really practice all that often, but fuck it if he wasn’t going to prove that he could do it! Or...something. Not like it fucking mattered what an idiot pop star thought of him.  


He started out with a simple beat, not having any idea what kind of sound this band had. He took a look at the man called Ray, and he looked unimpressed. Michael frowned, and launched into a complex rhythm. His arms flew around the set, wrists snapping down at lightning speed. He played for a minute or two, and then stopped on a cymbal crash. He turned his gaze to Ray, who looked a bit awed. The bassist gave Michael a slow nod.  


It was then that he realized the usually bustling stage crew had stopped. It was incredibly quiet. Michael felt embarrassment creeping up, he distracted everyone from their work oh God how was he gonna explain this one…  


Then a slow clap started, just from one person. Gavin was looking up at Michael, completely blown away. Ray joined him, and soon all of the roadies and techs were cheering for Michael. A man with tattoos on him arms strided out onto the stage, also clapping. With a laugh, he shouted,  


“Alright, assholes! I know this is most talent you’ve seen all tour but get back to work!”  


“Geoff! I’m talented aren’t I?” squeaked Gavin, rushing over to the man.  


“Yeah, sure buddy. Who the fuck is this?” Geoff asked, gesturing up at Michael, who was still sitting behind the drums.  


“It’s Michael Jones, Geoff! Can he come on the tour and replace Ryan? Please, Geoff! I’ll be a good boy I promise,” Gavin said, pleading. When Geoff glanced up at him, Michael shrugged nonchalantly.  


“Can you set up and tear down a drum set every night, kid?” Geoff asked, scrutinizing him.  


“Sure,” Michael stuttered out, suddenly nervous. Why the fuck was he nervous? It wasn’t like he wanted to tour around the world or anything. It certainly wasn’t because a sexy British boy was obviously enamored with him and begging for him to spend the next few months with him. What a crazy situation.  


“Do you know what you need to do besides setting up and tearing down?” Michael nodded, knowing he would be responsible for repairs as well as some audio and technical stuff. Geoff sighed loudly.  


“Well I’m sure this will bite me in the ass later, but right now I’m tired and pissed and don’t wanna worry about finding another drum tech. So welcome aboard, don’t fuck up,” he said, and then lovingly shoved Gavin out of the way to go and do whatever it is he does.  


Gavin was absolutely radiant. He bounced over to Michael and threw himself around him.  


“Oh, Michael! You’re going to be with us now! We’ll be best friends and do crazy rock star things, it’ll be great!”  


“I don’t even know any of you! You don’t know me! What if I’m a crazy serial killer or something!” Michael was more than a little shocked at how quickly this was happening. “Isn’t this more than a little unorthodox? Shouldn’t there be like, an interview process or something?” Gavin pulled himself off of the redhead, pouting at him.  


“Are you a serial killer? Are you going to murder me in my sleep?”  


“Oh God, no of course not I just-”  


“Then why are you worried, Michael! You’re the most stressed person here! Relax, we’ll go out for bevs tonight, and it will be great. I don’t have a show tomorrow, we’re traveling all day. So we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other!”  


“Don’t I travel in a different bus?”  


“Not unless I say so,” Gavin said, somehow making a simple comment sultry and sexy. Michael swallowed hard, and nodded.  


“B, stop flirting! Let’s warm-up,” a well muscled guy with dark hair sauntered out to the drum set. He had the same accent as Gavin. A blonde woman followed shortly behind, with a bright red electric guitar slung across her body.  


“Hold on, let me introduce you to our new drum tech, Michael! He’s really top. Michael, this Dan, I’ve known him since I was a kid. And this is Barbara, she followed me home from a bar one night and hasn’t left since,” Gavin said, poking Barbara.  


“That is not what happened at all, idiot. I believe you asked me to join your band after hearing me melt faces with this guitar,” she said, laughing.  


“Play some fucking chords to finish soundcheck, you pricks!” Geoff screamed from the wings. “You’re all on in an hour and a half!” Gavin nodded at him, then turned to Michael.  


“Are you excited to hear me sing like angel, Michael?” he said smirking.  


“Yeah sure, asshole,” Michael snickered, walking off the stage to wait in the wings. He was starting to worry about the possibility of being total shit at this drum tech thing, when Ryan appeared next to him.  


“Hey man, so Geoff tells me I’ve already been replaced?”  


“I guess. It happened really fast,” Michael said, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He did take this guy’s job after all.  


“Great! I don’t have to feel bad about flying out tonight!” Well now he just felt foolish. “Here, I’ll show you the ropes,” Ryan said, and started in on a crash course about audio levels, power conditioners, tuning drums, how to replace a head and what to do if Dan breaks something. Basically, how to keep the show going if the percussion goes to hell. Michael already knew how to do most of the stuff, and he kept shaking his head at how stupid Gavin was for not even checking if he knew his shit before pleading with Geoff, who Michael assumed was maybe the tour manager.  


“And that’s pretty much all you need to know, for now I think. If you have any troubles, give me a call” with this Ryan gave him his number, and then headed over to the electronics rig, where he would be for his last show of the tour. Michael intended to join him, when the show started. For now, he had to go and find Sorola, to tell him he was leaving. 

…

He found him in his office. Exactly where he was when Michael showed up three hours ago.  


“Do you ever leave this room, Gus?” He asked, sitting down opposite his boss.  


“Michael, I hate everyone in this entire business. Why would I ever leave my office? It is my sanctuary. Which is why I am wondering why you are here, and not doing your job,” Gus said, a little hysterically. The poor guy was always so stressed, which is why Michael felt a little bad for what he was about to do.  


“I have to quit, Gus. Did one of Gavin’s guys come and tell you all the fuckery that has happened in the past like, two hours?”  


“You’re quitting!? I thought that you were just filling in for their drum tech tonight!”  


“Nah, Gavin decided that he wanted me on his tour, and it seems like he always gets what he wants.” Gus sighed, looking defeated. It wasn’t that he really needed Michael in particular, but finding a new employee that wouldn’t piss him off with music questions he didn’t know the answer too would be a challenge.  


“Okay, bitch,” he said smiling. “Go do bigger and better things.”  


“Thanks, Sorola,” Michael replied, easily. Then he headed back down to the stage, to wait for the show to begin.  


…

The doors opened at 7:30, and within minutes the arena was bustling with people. The opening act was bouncing around backstage. They looked nervous as hell.  


“Ryan, what’s the deal with the opener?” asked Michael, curious as to who everyone was. He would be spending a lot of time with them after all.  


“Hm? Oh they’re called Animated Adventure,” Ryan said, looking at the guys. “The frontman, Jordan came up with the name. He makes short animated videos or something in his spare time. Chris is the guitarist and plays a little keyboard as well I think, Brandon there behind him is the drummer, and then Kerry plays bass. They’re with the same record label as Gavino.”  


“What label is that?”  


“RoosterTeeth. Geoff is good friends with the owner, Burnie. And the other two that keep shit running, Matt and Joel.” Michael had heard of the label before, but it was relatively small.  


“Does Gavin’s band have a name?”  


“He keeps saying he has something ‘in the works’ but I don’t think he’ll ever reach a decision,” Ryan said, laughing. “It’ll probably end up being something stupid like ‘Gavin and Friends.’”  


It was then that Animated Adventure walked past, and Ryan and Michael bid them good luck. 

…

They played for about half an hour. The crowd was cheering politely the whole time, not going completely crazy. When they left the stage, all the roadies congratulated them, then rushed onto the stage to clear off their equipment and setup what was left of Gavin’s. Ryan took Michael out onto the stage and quickly ran him through how to deal with quick changes, then they went back to the wings. It was then that Gavin with his band following shortly behind bounced up to them, squealing like some of his fans out in the audience.  


“Michael are you excited! I am so excited, Michael! This is gonna be top. I’ll sing a song for you!” He kept talking, but Michael had to tune him out for a moment.  


“Is he always like this before a show?” He asked Ray.  


“For the most part, yeah. Little bit worse tonight. I think someone has crush,” smacking Gavin the back of the head as he answered. Gavin gasped at him.  


“Ray! I do not have a crush!” Gavin claimed, indignantly. But, a red glow was becoming visible. Barbara and Dan snorted as Michael grinned at the ground, embarrassed.  


“If you say so,” Ray said, shrugging. It was then that the lights went down, and they rushed onto the stage.  


“Michael, can I have a kiss for good luck?” Gavin asked, barely visible. Clearly, Ray's comment held more truth than Gavin wanted him to believe. Michael laughed and pushed him out of the wings whispering, “Buy me a drink first.” And then the magic started.  


This band could _play_. Gavin didn’t even start singing for the first few minutes, just opened the show by leaping over Barbara and crawling on Dan while he tried to drum. It was a good thing Michael didn’t really have any responsibilities for his first show, because he was absolutely captivated.  


Gavin scurried down from Dan’s shoulders, and situated himself in front of the microphone in the center of the stage. He started to swing his hips in time with the music, making Michael a little dizzy. And then he opened his mouth and started to sing.  


Michael couldn’t have told you what the song was about, the only thing he could remember was how smooth Gavin’s voice was. It filled up the whole room, and pulled deafening shrieks from the crowd. When he held out the final note, Michael found himself applauding with everyone else. Only seconds after ending the first song, they started the next one. It passed in much the same way. After that, Gavin waited in front of the mic for the crowd to die down.  


“Hello, Austin!” he screamed, waving at the thousands of people in front of him. A ground-shaking cheer answered. He bantered with the crowd for a moment or two, then began the next song.  


The show passed by fairly quickly, Gavin occasionally stopping to joke with Ray or Barbara, or tell a story to the audience. It was time for the big finale all too soon, where Gavin climbed up onto some of the speakers on the sides of the stage, and sang from those for a bit.  


Suddenly, there was a flash of fire from behind Dan, and Gavin did a backflip off the speakers. The roar was incredible. Gavin stood with perfect posture in the center of the stage, and bowed to the audience before leaving the stage. The rest of the band followed suit. The cheering from crowd didn’t stop, soon a chant of ‘Gavin’ started up, they wanted an encore.  


After taking a break for a minute or so, Gavin nodded at his band and they bounced back onto the stage, to play two more songs.  


When they left the stage for the last time, and the lights came up, the first thing Gavin did was vault at Michael.  


“Michael did you see! Did you love it? Are you excited for the tour?” Michael held Gavin away, he was drenched in sweat.  


“I am so excited for the tour now, Gavin. That was amazing. But you are gross, and I am going to help put away all your shit,” Michael said, grinning at the frontman.  


“Do you wanna get bevs when you’re done?” Gavin asked, smiling back.  


“What the hell are bevs? Also I need to pack some shit together don’t I? If I’m gonna be on your tour. I need to go home for like, 15 minutes.”  


“Ooh, Michael! Can I come?”  


“Why? It’s just a nearly empty apartment. Besides, isn’t a little trashy to take you back to my place on the first date?” Michael joked, making Gavin smile even wider. A warm feeling spread through his chest.  


“Please, Michael?” Gavin asked again, a little calmer this time. Michael sighed. He could not think of a single reason why he wouldn’t want this dumb idiot to follow him home.  


“Alright. But really, I got shit to do. I don’t want to piss off Geoff before he even gets to know me.” Gavin saluted him then, and spun off to chatter with the roadies. Smiling despite himself, Michael followed Ryan out onto the stage.  


What an unbelievable situation this was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's a thing. I wrote this much over one weekend, and so if I am not terribly busy I would like to update once a week. However, that might not happen. Worst case I only update once in a month. Thank you for reading!


	2. "I Practically Forced Myself Upon You"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter than the first one, and it's taken three weeks to finish it. Sorry 'bout that.

“So, Gavin. Tell me, what is a ‘bev,’” asked Michael. The two boys were getting into Michael’s car, as Michael was finally done helping Ryan put away all of the drum stuff. He had explained everything he needed to know once more, and then went around saying goodbye to everyone before he got in a cab and went to the airport. Michael knew he would be calling him literally fifteen hundred times the first time he had to do all the stuff on his own, but that was a problem for another day. Right now, all he was worried about was getting his shit together, and spending some quality time with the boy he met three hours ago.  


“A bev, dear Michael, is a drink one consumes at a bar. Nearly always alcoholic, at least where I am concerned,” Gavin explained, smiling up at him. “Or in our case, on a bus, as Geoff tells me I am not allowed to go out for bevs tonight. Something about wanting to get to our hotel early.”  


“Speaking of Geoff, does he know that you’re coming with me instead of doing whatever you should be doing?” Michael asked, turning out of the parking lot. Gavin didn’t say anything, just pulled his phone out of his pocket. “You little fuck, make you sure you tell him I’m not kidnapping you.”  


“Hello Geoffrey!” Gavin said loudly. Even though the phone was pressed to Gavin’s ear, Michael could still hear Geoff scream,  


_“Where the fuck did you go, asshole!?”_  


“God damn it, Gavin!” Michael shouted, while Gavin laughed.  


“I’m with Michael, Geoff! I’m going to help him get ready to leave with us tonight, and then he is going to ride with me, because I said so. Oh, could you send a taxi to get us as well?” Gavin asked, giving Geoff the address. A dramatic sigh was heard through the phone. “Thank you, Geoff! You’re the greatest manager anyone could ever ask for! See you soon now bye!” He ran the last few words together to prevent Geoff from saying anything else.  


“Fuck you,” Michael said, smacking Gavin.  


“Aw no, Michael. Why?” Gavin whined, sounding incredibly hurt while wearing a stupid, shit-eating grin on his face.  


“I’m pretty sure stealing the performer is a no-no,” explained Michael, turning into his tiny driveway.  


“Yeah probably, but you didn’t steal me did you? I practically _forced_ myself upon you,” he responded, with a wink. Michael sat in the car a moment, preparing himself for an hour alone with Gavin Free. With a sharp inhale, he scrambled out of his car and showed Gavin up to his apartment.  


…

“Okay, I’m warning you now, it really is a piece of shit,” he said leading Gavin inside. He walked into his bedroom, and pulled a bag out of his tiny closet. Gavin looked around the room, and chuckled to himself.  


“It’s a lot better than what I had back in England.” Michael found that hard to believe. Gavin was an incredibly talented singer, who was now touring with an incredibly talented band. He surely had money, much more than Michael did at any rate.  


“Are you serious? What could be worse than this?” he asked, pulling his entire wardrobe from his drawers. It wasn’t very big. Gavin laughed again, softly. He paused a moment, looking out the window. Then he shook his head.  


“Just...where I was staying. Well, Dan and I. Dan is the reason I started singing, you know,” Michael glanced over at him, tossing almost all of his belongings into a single suitcase. He nodded at him to continue. Gavin sighed slightly.  


“Before I was friends with Dan, I was sort of...in the wrong crowd you could say. Maybe it’s good because it got me kicked out of my house and that’s when I met him. The lifestyle though - of those people - it wasn’t good. But then I was wandering around high as a kite one afternoon, and I heard someone making quite a bit of noise with trash cans. I, being stoned and tired, stumbled into the alley and there was Dan, banging away. He tells me that I came up to him and started trying to sing a song, then passed out. I don’t remember anything really. But yeah, after that I just stuck with him. He helped me get clean. We’d still go out and drink, but the drugs weren’t ruining my life anymore. As we got to know each other, we learned that we both had a passion for music and then things kinda went from there. By the time Geoff showed up in England, we had written forty-five songs,” Gavin grinned, looking up at Michael who had finished packing everything.  


“Holy shit, dude. That’s a lot of music for two British punks,” Gavin chuckled, making Michael smile.  


“It may sound like it, but they were absolutely awful. I don’t think we actually used any of them.”  


“Did you write the songs you played tonight?”  


“Nah, those were all Ray and Barb. Geoff even wrote one. I have written songs, and some were pretty top but none of them...there was no real feeling in them. Nothing has ever really inspired me to write before. Which is probably ridiculous as I’m actually a very lucky guy, but I just can’t find the right words to describe anything.” Michael stared at the boy, meeting Gavin’s eyes. He looked as though what he was saying wasn't completely true, though Michael had no idea what. He glanced at the clock on the wall. He only had half an hour to pause his entire life before he left with a bunch of people he barely knew.  


“I feel like I’m missing some major details, but I think we’ll have time for that later. Can you go lock up my windows? I need to cancel my mail and shit.” 

…

The car horn beeped once more, as Michael and Gavin stumbled out of his apartment. Michael was probably forgetting something, but that was a problem for another day. Throwing his single suitcase into the trunk, Michael climbed in the back with Gav, who was practically vibrating in his seat.  


The cabbie was an older gentleman, who didn’t say anything to the two boys. Michael gave him a small nod of acknowledgement, and he turned around. He seemed to know where to take them without them having to say anything. Geoff must have already worked that out, which was good because Michael had no idea where to go.  


“I would have thought running around checking locks for an hour would have worn you out,” the redhead yawned, conspicuously stretching his arm over the back of the seat.  


“No, Michael! I’m taking you on my bus. It’s like my home for the next few months. You’re coming home with me tonight!” Gavin smirked, winking at Michael, who smacked the back of his head.  


“I already made that joke, you idiot,” Michael laughed, and Gavin laid his head back on Michael’s arm as they lulled into a comfortable silence. 

…

They arrived at the tour bus a few minutes later. It had moved to a different parking lot. Michael fished some money out of his worn-out pockets, but before he could give the cabbie the correct price, Gavin was throwing a handful of cash at him and dragging Michael out of the car. Glancing back, Michael was almost positive he overpaid the cabbie by at least $200.  


He bounced over to the bus, then paused for a moment.  


“Now, my dear Michael, I present to you,” he threw the door open.  


_“The Party Bus!”_


	3. "The Party Bus"

“The Party Bus,” Michael chuckled, following Gavin up the few stairs into the vehicle. Not expecting anything from it, he was blown away by how decked out it was.  


The first thing he noticed was the large television hanging on the wall next to the curtain that led to the front of bus. Opposite the TV was a long brown leather couch that stretched all the way down to the door at the back, where Michael assumed the bunks were. There was a table with booths across from the couch, with what appeared to be a minibar inlaid to the side of the seats. Everything looked very shiny and new.  


“Jesus Christ, Gav. You’re making enough to afford this?”  


“I hope so, the label fronted us money for it because our last tour went really well. Traveling without a fancy bus is awful, by the way. But Joel thinks that we’ll make enough to have this for a good while. He’s good with money, or something,” Gavin explained, even though he looked confused. “Where the hell are my band mates?”  


Suddenly, the door at the back burst open and two bodies came tumbling at the two boys. The blonde haired one tackled Gavin on the couch, while the other fell on to the table. Michael jumped back as Gavin shrieked.  


“Do we get to properly meet your new boyfriend now, Gavin?” The woman asked, not moving from him.  


“Only if you get off my bloody chest!” Gavin croaked, and tumbled into the small aisle. A man shuffled out from the back then, shirtless, running a hand through his hair.  


“Christ, B. Be a little louder.” Gavin just made a face at him, as he stood up.  


“Guys, this is Michael, I introduced him earlier, I think. At least...Ray you met him, yeah?”  


“I did. He made every lady within earshot throw their panties. Well, and Gavin.”  


“Gavin threw his panties?” Barb asked, grinning at the blushing idiot. Michael took this opportunity to join in on the conversation.  


“He did, it was really quite unprofessional.” Ray snorted, and threw himself down on the couch.  


“I like him already, Gav. He seems like a funny one,” Barb said, smiling at the Jersey boy.  


“No need to stand all alone, Michael. Come join me,” Ray said, gesturing at the expansive amount of sofa. Sliding past Gavin, and perhaps brushing up against him a little more than necessary, Michael sat down next to Ray. A quick frown flitted across Gavin’s face, before he joined them, nearly sitting on top of the redhead.  


“Where is Geoff? He told me we couldn’t go out for bevs because he wanted to start driving. And where is the driver? And where even is our next show?” Gavin asked, looking more and more perplexed with every word that came out of his mouth.  


“Do you know anything at all?” Michael asked, staring incredulously at the frontman.  


“No, he doesn’t. He is a right idiot,” Dan said, still standing by the door at the back. Barb nodded in agreement.  


“Our next show is in Orlando, and that’s two days away. Geoff wants to get there early so we aren’t all tired and grumpy after driving for sixteen hours or something, and so we can have a little free time in the sunshine state since all this tour has been so far is working and driving. I’m hoping he uses this off time to make a move on Griffon. Right now, Caleb and him are getting coffee. They should be back any minute now,” Barbara said.  


“Who is Caleb?” asked Gavin, sounding absolutely dumbfounded.  


“Oh my God,” Ray whispered, as everyone person in the room groaned.  


“Caleb is the driver, right?” Michael guessed, and the band nodded. “You dick, your driver should be your best friend. He handles this bus for you and puts up with your crap, sometimes literally if you can’t wait to shit in a convenience store bathroom. When he gets back, you need to give him a fucking hug and tell him you love him.”  


“Yeah, what he said,” Ray added.  


“Thank you, Ray. Also, who is Griffon? Is she on the tour? I don’t think I met her earlier.”  


“Griffon is fucking awesome,” Barb cried excitedly, “she does pyrotechnics and cool effects stuff like that. She is basically the artist for this tour. She makes everything look really awesome. And everyone can clearly see that Geoff thinks she’s the hottest woman in the world, and she probably is, but he won’t admit it.”  


It was then that footsteps were heard from outside. Gavin stood up and rushed over to the entrance, wrapping his arms around the person that came up the stairs.  


“I love you,” he said, still embracing the man.  


“Uhh, okay buddy. Everything alright?” Geoff asked, holding his ninety-nine cent coffee away from the boy around his middle.  


“Oh! Geoff! I didn’t want you,” Gavin exclaimed, pushing him away. A skinny guy had followed Geoff up and on to the bus.  


“Well fine, I never liked you anyway,” he muttered, going through the curtain to the front seats.  


“I love you,” he said again, throwing his arms around the boy.  


“Thanks, dude,” said Caleb, looking amused.  


“You can thank Michael for that,” Barb said, pointing at him. Caleb wiggled away from Gavin, and shook hands with him.  


“It’s nice to meet you,” said Michael.  


“You too. Since when have you been on this tour?”  


“I joined like, four hours ago or something. I’m the new drum tech.”  


“Well alright. Enjoy your stay at casa del partido,” and with a chuckle he went into the front and started up the bus.  


“Alright, well, I’m going to go to bed like a good boy,” Dan yawned, going back to his bunk.  


“Poor Dan, so tired,” murmured Barbara, joining the three boys on the couch.  


“Don’t worry, he just has a bit of a cold now. He is a good bit of fun when he’s healthy,” Gavin assured Michael, but didn’t look completely confident with his statement. Michael wanted to ask why, but didn’t feel that pushing the matter was a good idea.  


“So, I know Geoff expects us to sleep as that is the whole reason for taking off in the middle of the night, but how about we play Halo instead?” Ray suggested, not waiting for the enthusiastic response before he was pulling out an Xbox and some controllers from a cabinet in the wall next to the television. “Michael, have you ever played before?”  


“Of course,” he said, thinking back to the many hours spent gaming when he wasn’t working.  


As Ray was getting everything started, Geoff appeared from the front.  


“Really, assholes? Without me?”  


“You wanna play, Geoff?” Barb asked, holding a controller up to him.  


“Nah, I was about to go sleep, which you all should be doing. However, I am personally offended you did not extend the offer of Halo to me,” he joked as he made his way into the back.  


“Hey guys,” Gavin whispered, “now that dad is gone, what do you say we break out the alcohol!” The other three laughed, and he got up to retrieve some beers from the minibar. 

…

Five hours, eight beers, and hundreds of horrible jokes later Gavin was drunk and everyone was tired enough that getting shot was the funniest thing they’d ever seen. Barb said goodnight and went to her bunk, and then Michael started thinking about the number of beds on this bus.  


“Gavin,” he drawled, “where am I supposed to sleep?” Gavin opened his mouth to answer, and then dropped his controller to put his hands on his head. He seemed to be in very deep thought. Ray, who was still completely sober as he didn’t drink, quickly jumped up scurried into the back. He was not going to give up his bed.  


“I think that we will stay on the couch, as the beds are too tiny for two people,” Gavin said, tripping over his tongue in his drunken state.  


“Well you can sleep in your bunk, stupid,” Michael murmured. He stumbled over to the Xbox to turn it off, and set the controllers back on the shelf in the cabinet. As he fell back on the seat, Gavin leaned into him and whispered,  


“I wouldn’t want you to get lonely, Michael.” He was about to protest when the skinny British boy wrapped his arms around his torso. He was pretty warm...and the bus was a little cold. May as well let him stay there.  


“Okay,” Michael replied, just as softly. The lights were off, the only bit of brightness came from the occasional string of street lamps passing outside. “You know,” he said a few minutes later, “you really need a band name. Those guys are too awesome to just be the people who play for you.” He felt Gavin nod against his chest.  


“I know, I owe pretty much everything I have to them. It’s not like Dan and I were going to get anywhere on our own. As I said, they do a lot of the writing and stuff. They’re so great,” Gavin was slurring his words together. “I just...can’t come up with anything good. That seems to be the thing with me. I never feel like I achieve anything. Not in real life that is, I get them in video games. Why can’t it be as easy to do things in real life as it is in fake life?” Gavin wondered, hiding his face in Michael’s chest.  


Michael didn’t say anything for a bit, as he thought about what Gav had just said. He understood what he meant. He had been working the same job for years before Gavin had shown up. Stopping people from jumping on to a stage didn’t feel like he was doing anything important.  


“I don’t know,” Gavin muttered again, his accent getting stronger as he was getting sleepier, “I’ve just been looking for a way to succeed all my life, and this band has allowed to me to do everything. I’m not even sure I’m making sense anymore. Do you know what I’m talking about?”  


“Yeah, you’re like a little achievement hunter,” he smiled at the mental image of Gavin literally hunting for little physical achievements. The boy on his chest struggled into a sitting position and beamed at him.  


“That’s it, Michael!”  


“What’s it?”  


“Our band name. Achievement Hunters. Now I’m drunk and I’m gonna forget so you gotta remember I told you that that’s the band name now.”  


“Are you serious?”  


“Yes! Write it down or something!” Michael smiled, feeling really pleased with his half-drunk self for accidentally coming up with a band name. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to save the name somewhere, when Gavin plucked it out of his hands.  


“Gavin, what are you doing?” He whined, reaching over the boy for his phone. Gavin just curled the phone around his body and shushed him. Michael gave up and laid down on the couch again. A minute or so later Gavin crawled on top of him and stuck his phone back in his pocket for him.  


“Jesus you weigh like, eight pounds,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around the boy on his chest. Soon, they fell asleep to the sound of tires rumbling down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question Of The Week: Favorite love song from the 80s?


	4. "Since When Am I Your Boy?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took me three hundred years to finish. I was in Phantom of the Opera but the show is over now so I had some time to write. Also this chapter is short as dicks. My bad.

Sunlight was streaming in between the curtains. Michael blinked slowly, taking in his surroundings. He started to sit up, when he realized something was on top of him. After a moment of panic, he remembered where he was. Gavin was breathing softly, still deep in sleep. Michael was content to just lay there for a while, holding on to Gavin. He jumped slightly as he heard the sound of a camera. Glancing up, he saw Geoff snickering behind his phone. Michael wanted to take it and punch him in the face; however, pissing off his new boss was probably not a good idea.  


“So this isn’t the first impression I wanted,” Michael said to Geoff, who grinned back at him.  


“You mean you’re not on this tour to take advantage of that idiot?”  


“Geoff, of course not! You’re a crazy man,” Michael joked, sliding out from under Gavin. He stayed sprawled out on the couch while Michael sat up.  


“We’re gonna be stopping soon for food and shit, so we’re gonna have to wake these assholes up in a few minutes,” Geoff said, sitting at the table. Michael joined him, yawning.  


“I can’t believe you actually just dropped everything and joined us,” he continued, setting his phone on the table.  


“Neither can I. But, it’s not as if I had any reason to stay.”  


“Really? No family? Girlfriend? Or, I guess boyfriend, if you prefer.”  


“Nah, my family is in New Jersey.”  


“Then what the hell were you doing in Austin?”  


“It wasn’t for any spectacular reason. I went to ACL one year and then liked the city so much I stayed. At first it was really nice to be so alone, but that’s only cool for a year or two at most. I was actually thinking about moving somewhere else, and then you all showed up,” Michael explained. He wasn’t one for dramatic back stories.  


Gavin fought his way into the waking world then, moaning as he stretched his limbs.  


“Michael…” he grumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. His accent still very prominent in his voice.  


“You say my name like a fucking idiot,” Michael replied, blushing slightly at the fact the first word out of Gavin’s mouth was his name. Geoff hid his smile behind his hand.  


“Uuugh…Michael I’m cold where’d you go,” Gavin whined, throwing himself on the couch.  


“Oh, well, I was talking to Geoff before you so rudely interrupted!”  


“Piss off, Geoff.”  


Geoff groaned as he got to his feet. He sat next to Gavin’s head and started to muss up his hair.  


“Why don’t you go wake up the others. Caleb said we would be stopping in fifteen minutes.”  


“I said _piss off_ , Geoff!”  


“Listen here, asshole,” Geoff started, when Michael cut in.  


“Geoff? May I offer my assistance?”  


“Sure, buddy.”  


“Gavin, you wanna get up?” asked Michael, as he stood over top of him.  


_“No!”_  


“Are you sure about that?”  


Gavin just groaned in response.  


Michael nodded, then bent over and scooped Gavin up in one swift motion. Gavin flailed and shrieked.  


“God damn it, calm down!” Michael shouted, grinning at Geoff who was cackling at the two boys. Unable to hold the wiggling man anymore, he just dropped him.  


“Gahh, what was that for!?” Gavin screeched from his position on the floor.  


“You wouldn’t listen to Geoff, you fuck!”  


“I think Gav made a good decision in bringing you along, Michael. Holy shit,” Geoff laughed, helping Gavin off the carpet. “Seriously though, go get your band mates. I need to talk to Michael about some technical stuff that’s all boring and...stuff.”  


Gavin pouted at his tour manager, thinking about arguing, then strutted off to the bunks. 

…

Barbara, Dan, and Ray had all slept through the screaming that had occurred. Gavin felt stupid getting everyone up for just food. Usually they slept until at least three in the afternoon. Geoff was probably just punishing them for playing video games all night. What a pleb.  
The bunks were inset in the wall. They kind of reminded Gavin of human-sized bread boxes. Drawing back the black curtain on the bed closest to him, he saw Ray. The tiny man was curled up against the wall. Below him was Dan, and Barbara was opposite him. Had Gavin used his bunk, he would have been above Barbara. Geoff’s was across from the bathroom, and it had some shelves above it.  


Figuring he could use her help in getting Ray up, he decided to wake Barb up first. He drew back the curtain and shook her gently. She groaned as she blinked her eyes open.  


“Gavin, what the fuck are you doing. Go back to sleep!”  


“Geoff said we are getting food. Come help me wake up Ray,” Gavin said, pulling her out of the bed. She squeaked and tried to kick him, but her legs were tangled up in the sheets.  


“God damn it!” She cried as Gavin set her, and all over her blankets, on the floor. Instead of standing up, she chose to simply wrap herself up and lie on the ground.  


“Barbara!” Gavin whined, drawing her name out. Dan poked his head out from his curtain then.  


“What the hell is going on?” he asked, rolling out on the floor.  


“She won’t get up!”  


Dan sighed loudly and scrambled to his feet, then picked Barbara up off the ground and forced her to stand. He held her upright until she opened her eyes and glared him.  


“I hate you, Dan!” she hissed, crossing her arms.  


“Hey, I’m just trying to help out my best mate!” he smiled at Gavin who beamed back at him.  


“Why didn’t you wake Ray up first?” Barbara asked, still upset about being forced to get up.  


“Because he acts like a little bitch and I didn’t want to face him alone,” Gavin answered, reaching for Ray’s curtain.  


 _“SURPRISE, MOTHERFUCKERS!”_ screamed Ray, launching himself out of his bunk as best he could, really only succeeding in smacking the opposite wall. He did; however, make Gavin and Barbara shriek like little girls. Dan was unfazed.  


“Jesus Christ, Ray!” Gavin stuttered out, holding his chest and breathing heavily. “You scared the balls off me!”  


“Who’s the little bitch now?” Ray asked, grinning as he slouched against the wall, rubbing his elbow. Dan shook his head at the scene before him.

…

“Unfortunately, this is the usual amount of screaming for this bus.” Geoff grumbled when Michael glanced at the back door for the third time. 

…

  


After everyone got dressed, the four band mates joined Geoff and Michael in the main cabin. The two were talking over some papers.  


“Whatcha’ doin’,” Ray asked sitting down next to Michael in the booth. He grinned at Gavin’s embittered face. The English boy plopped down on the sofa next to Dan and Barb.  


“Finishing up some shit,” Geoff explained. “Good news is, Michael is now our legal bitch!”  


“So can I like, fuck him in the ass now or…” Ray asked, not-so-surreptitiously sliding his hand around Michael’s shoulders.  


“You might have to fight with Gavin for that right,” Geoff said, gathering up the papers. Michael snorted out laughter.  


“I saw him first, Ray! You Puerto Rican asshole!”  


“Gav’s got a point,” Michael added.  


“Yeah! My boy!” cheered Gavin.  


“Since when am I your boy?”  


“Since right now.”  


“Oh, well. Alright. Sounds good.”  


“So where are we, Geoffrey?” Dan asked.  


“Uhhh we should be arriving at McDicks shortly. I dunno, ask Caleb,” he responded.  


“Two minutes!” Caleb shouted from behind the curtain.  


“Caleb, you eavesdropper!” screamed Gavin.  


“Whoa, Caleb, you eavesdropping?” Barbara asked, looking up from her phone.  


The dumb conversation continued for a few minutes more, until the vehicle turned into a parking lot, allowing the rambunctious rock stars to have some room to stretch out.


	5. "The Happiest Place On Earth"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Please read the notes at the end! They are relevant! Thanks!

As soon as they stopped, everyone was off the bus and walking around the parking lot. Geoff went over and immediately started talking to a blonde woman, who Michael assumed was Griffon. She was a beautiful woman, and Geoff wasn’t doing a good job of hiding how enthralled he was. Barbara came up behind Michael, smiling.  


“I can see why you want Geoff to make a move,” he said to her, gesturing at the couple a few feet away.  


“They just look so good together! Clearly he likes her quite a lot.” Michael nodded in agreement. He turned around quickly as he heard shrieks coming from Gavin. A quick flash of worry went through him, until he realized that he and Ray were just wrestling around in the grass.  


“What is happening here,” Caleb asked, coming off the bus. Gavin’s only response was to scream as Ray rolled on top of him. One of the roadies, the big one named Jack, ordered the food for everyone and brought it back to the buses. No one really wanted to get on the road again though, so they stayed outside for a bit. Michael sat down next to Gavin and Ray, when they finished their match.  


“So really, Gav, your last name cannot possibly be Free. That’s pretty Hollywood dude,” said Michael.  


“That’s what I thought, but his name really is Gavin Free,” Ray affirmed, opening a bottle of water.  


“I was born to be a star,” Gavin confessed, shrugging his shoulders. Michael just laughed and hit him on the shoulder.  


He hadn’t been so happy in a while. Here he was, sitting outside on a beautiful morning, with good people he met not even a day ago. The uncertainty should scare him, probably. But he just felt really good about this impulse decision he had made. He wasn’t going to go anywhere in Austin, he probably would have been stuck in that dead-end security job for the rest of his life had he not joined the tour. Now he was a proper technician. And the Achievement Hunters were a successful band. How could one man get so lucky in a single night? Oh wait-  


“Achievement Hunters!” Michael exclaimed, making the four band members jump.  


“Where did that come from?” Ray asked, as Michael frantically pulled his phone out of his pocket and searched through it, not exactly remembering if Gavin had made a note or not. He had a new message from a contact he didn’t recognize.  


“Gavin, did you put your number in my phone as ‘Sexy British Twink’?” Laughter erupted from the group.  


“Eh, might’ve done!” Gavin answered, holding his sides.  


“How drunk were you last night?” Barbara asked.  


“I dunno! I came up with a band name though, a real one. Well, Michael said it and then I decided it was a good name. We’re the Achievement Hunters now.”  


“What if I don’t like that name?” Barb said tartly, crossing her arms.  


“Do you not like it?” Gavin asked, sounding worried.  


“No, I love it, calm down. Where did that idea come from?”  


“It was just something Michael said last night, that I was a little Achievement Hunter and I figured that we are all like that. We’re all out to accomplish something,” he explained, and his band members smiled at the truth behind that.  


“So, Michael basically named the band, and he is only been with us for like a day,” Ray laughed. “Do you even know how we came to be?”  


“Uh, I know Geoff discovered Gavin and Dan in England or something? I don’t know where the hell you two came from,” Michael responded.  


“Oh my story is great,” Barb exclaimed excitedly.  


“Yeah, I recall you said something about melting faces at a bar?”  


“Yes, that is exactly what happened. It was my friend’s place, and he would let me play there and pay me a few bucks each week for performing. Not a lot, but enough to get by. Well one night, it got really busy and right in the middle of my set this guy,” she poked Gavin’s cheek. “Shoves his way through the crowd and jumps up on the stage, drunk off his ass, and demands that I play _What Makes You Beautiful_.” Michael snickered at Gavin’s blushing face. “So obviously I did, but you know, better than it actually is. He sang along with me and everyone in the place loved it. His voice is absolutely amazing even when he is too drunk to function, by the way. So when he got down on one knee and asked me to join his band, I did. Didn’t really give it a second thought, kinda like you, Michael.”  


“You know, Gavin sort of got me the same way,” Ray said. “I was working a coffee shop, barely making minimum wage-”  


“Total hipster,” Dan cut in.  


“Oh yeah definitely, I had a really cool undercut and a maroon beanie, like I was the shit. But anyway, I would play there sometimes because they had a little platform thing for wannabe art majors to recite their poetry or something. Well one morning these three hungover bitches stumble into my quaint little shop, and because I’m an asshole, instead of serving them coffee, I pulled out my bass and went to town. Geoff starting whining like a little girl, but Gav and Dan looked pretty entertained. I thought it was funny, but my boss...uh...did not agree with me! So that’s the story of how I got fired. It would have been a much sadder story if Gavin had not invited me on a tour bus with him.”  


“It’s pretty amazing how this band came to be because we had nothing to lose,” Dan said, smiling at the people around him.  


“And on that lovely note, Geoff is looking antsy. We should probably get going,” Barb said, standing up and brushing herself off. “Also, I wanna be able to go to Disney today. We’re only like, 2 hours away or something. I bet if we really move we can be in the park by 1 o’clock!”  


“Michael, quick, favorite ride in Disney,” Ray asked as that climbed back on the bus.  


“Uh, I’ve never been,” he responded awkwardly.  


“Neither have I,” Gavin added. “I don’t think Dan has either,” he shook his head, confirming that he had never experienced the Happiest Place On Earth.  


“Oh my God,” Ray said, shocked. “Get ready for the time of your lives!”

…

They arrived at their hotel at noon. Barbara immediately tumbled off the bus, and started shoving bags into everyone’s hands. Geoff realized a little late that they didn’t have enough beds between all the rooms they had for Michael to fit, so he started to inquire about an extra room when Gavin said,  


“Geoff! Don’t worry about it. He can join me!” Geoff raised his eyebrows at the implications of that, but didn’t question it.  


A lot of the roadies were choosing to stay at the hotel, but a few of the Animated Adventure guys tagged along, as well as Jack and Griffon upon Geoff’s request. Caleb drove the ten people over to the park, and promised to return for them when Geoff called. There was a flurry of buying tickets and everyone laughing at Gavin’s excitement and taking photos but soon enough, they were all in line for Space Mountain.  


“I can’t believe I’ve never been here! This place is bloody top!” Gavin said, bouncing in place.  


“I told you! Disney is great,” Barbara said, then she gestured at Geoff and Griffon. “I think tonight’s the night! He’s gonna ask her out!”  


“Aww, my little Geoff! GO GEOFF!” Gavin screamed, earning himself a middle finger. Michael laughed as Ray slapped him on the back of his head. Eventually, the group made their way to the front of the line. Michael was excited; he loved rollercoasters. Gavin; however, had gone oddly quiet.  


“What’s wrong, buddy?” Michael asked, nudging Gavin.  


“What? Nothing. It’s dark in here,” Gavin responded, glancing around.  


“I think that’s part of the attraction, like doesn’t it get dark at some point on the ride?”  


“Oh,” Gavin said, looking a bit nervous.  


“Gavin are you scared of the dark?” Michael asked, a little incredulously.  


“Well, monsters come out in the dark don’t they!” Michael smiled at him. How was it that Gavin was so fucking adorable?  


“Come here,” Michael said, wrapping his arm around Gavin’s waist. “No monsters will get you.” The British boy beamed up at him, and cuddled closer against his side. _"I'm so gay..."_ he thought to himself.  


“Guys! Look! Oh my God,” Barbara whispered to Ray and Dan, pointing at the other two boys.  


“How are those idiots so in love after two fucking days?” Geoff asked, coming up behind them with his arm around Griffon.  


“All of you are so adorable,” Barb said, putting her hands on her face.  


“Dan everyone else is being cute as hell, why aren’t you? Don’t you love me?” Ray asked jokingly. Dan responded by giving him an incredibly awkward hug. Geoff was quick with his camera, and took what he described as “the most homoerotic photo ever.”  


Soon enough, they were each in a car. Gavin was a bit unhappy to sit by himself, but Michael was right behind him. After shrieking his way through the ride, he was incredibly happy and wanted to go again.  


“No, I want you to ride the Tower of Terror. Wouldn’t Gavin on the Tower of Terror be hilarious?” Barbara asked, looking excited. Ray laughed in response, nodding.  


As the group was making their way over to the ride, Gavin saw a girl in a t-shirt that had his face on it.  


“Geoff! Look!” Gavin squealed, looking more excited than he had after Space Mountain.  


“Whoa shit, dude! That’s fuckin’ awesome,” he remarked, looking like a proud father. “Glad to know people actually buy our merch.”  


“Guys, I’m gonna take a picture with her,” he pulled his phone out of his pocket and made his way over to the girl. He stood behind her ready to snap a photo.  


“‘Scuse me, love? Mind turning around so I can see your shirt?” The girl spun around quickly. She looked ready to punch Gavin in the face, until she realized who he was and let out a little gasp of excitement.  


“What do you- wait oh my God you’re- you’re Gavin! Is that...are you trying to take a selfie with me? Can I have a selfie with you?” she asked. Michael noticed that she was keeping her cool really well, even though she looked like she wanted to scream. Gavin took the photo, and then brought her and her friends over to meet everyone. Jack had a sharpie and she had the band sign her shirt, which made everyone feel really cool. They hadn’t meet many of their fans before, and it felt really nice to be recognized.  


“You know when you become super-famous stuff like that is gonna start to get old,” Jack said, as the band waved goodbye to the girl.  


“I like your confidence in us, Jack,” Ray said, as they continued on their way to the ride.  


“Nah. Never,” Gavin cut in. “I am always going to appreciate this. It’s more than I ever could have wished for.” Michael smiled at him. In his time he had met a lot of real assholes who didn’t give a fuck about the people who made them famous. Gavin wasn’t like that, and Michael knew that meant so much to his fans and he could appreciate the value of a good person. 

…

After waiting in another line, they made their way into the Tower of Tower.  


“Sweet jazz,” Ray commented on the music playing to create the eerie atmosphere of the queue area.  


“Ooh Michael, I don’t like this. Why did you make me come in here!” Gavin whined.  


“Calm down, you baby,” Michael replied, grinning at him.  


“Yeah it will be okay, it’s only like...a 170 foot drop or something,” Ray said with a smug smile. Gavin looked uneasy.  


They got on the ride, and Gavin sat between Dan and Michael.  


“You look like you’re gonna toss, B!” Dan noted. Michael laughed at the incredibly uncomfortable face Gavin was making.  


Nobody spoke as the narrator talked, but there was a chorus of “oooh” when they “went past the fifth dimension.” Gavin was relatively calm until they reached the very top of the ride, and the doors opened to show how incredibly high up they were.  


Then, they dropped. Everyone screamed, but Gavin was decidedly the loudest one.  


“Can we...not do that again?” Gavin asked, as they stumbled out.  


 _“LOOK AT HIS FACE!”_ Geoff shouted out from somewhere up ahead. Michael joined him in his hysterical laughter when he saw the photo that had been taken during the drop. Most people had a pretty normal face, with wide eyes and open mouths; however, the face Gavin was making was absolutely satanic.  


“Holy fuck! What happened to your neck!?” Ray howled, pointing at the image. It looked as though Gavin had broken his spine while trying to hide inside himself. His mouth was open but in a weird crooked way and he had managed to furrow his eyebrows while still having wide eyes. It was undoubtedly one of the funniest pictures Michael had ever seen in his life.  


“I am going to buy this picture and frame it in my living room, Gav,” Geoff cried, struggling to breathe. The guy working behind the counter seemed to be finding it hard to ring up Geoff as his eyes also seemed to be blurred by tears brought on by laughing. Gavin was blushing furiously and insisting that Geoff did not buy the photos but he did. Michael made sure that he would receive a copy, and Dan got a keychain of it.  


“I bloody hate you all,” Gavin said, stalking away from the group with a smile on his face.

…

They spent another few hours at the park, then Geoff reminded the band that they had an interview in the morning, and suddenly Ray was a huge advocate for returning to the hotel and sleeping.  


When they returned, everyone went their separate ways. There isn’t much alone time on tours, so the general rule is “Don’t Fuck With Me At The Hotel.”  


“I actually really enjoyed that,” Gavin decided as he unlocked the hotel room door.  


“Yeah, I can’t believe I had never been there before,” Michael yawned. “Oh, one bed?”  


“Uhm...yeah.” Michael sighed a little dramatically.  


“Jesus, will I ever get a night when you’re not up my ass all night?”  


“If all goes well I will be up your ass all the time,” Gavin said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.  


“Jesus fucking Christ, holy shit, dude,” Michael stammered, laughing. “Let’s just go to bed, asshole.”  


“No, wait! I have bevs?” Gavin continued, holding up a pack of beer. “C’mon you don’t know true fun until you’ve drunkenly made fun of shitty hotel television!” Michael stared at him for a moment, and then conceded. 

…

  


It did not take long for them to get absolutely pissed, going through more than one pack. They were watching some sort of infomercial about dogs, but it wasn’t as though either of them remembered what was on the screen. The only thing Michael recalled from that night was the way Gavin’s accent worked it’s way into all of his words, and the sultry tone of his voice as he crawled on top of Michael. He knew that if his brain had been working properly, he would have made Gavin slow down. He had only just met him and he knew that he wanted to be friends with him for a long time, but in the moment all he could think about was how nice Gavin’s fingers felt in his hair. Working completely on his instincts, Michael grabbed the sides of Gavin’s head and pulled his lips down to meet his own.  


It was just a kiss, but it was undisputedly the best one Michael had ever had in his life. Gavin slid his tongue across Michael’s lip, asking for entrance, and he opened his mouth immediately.  


Eventually they both fell asleep, wound around one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayeee so, a few things.
> 
> 1.) The Future of This Story  
> It will continue, but I am less certain of how frequently I will update. I will still totally strive for once a week, but once or twice a month will probably become more likely. Super sorry, but you know. Life and stuff. Don't worry though, I have 12+ chapters planned out! I'm going to finish this, I promise you I won't give up on it if you won't! 
> 
> 2.) A Contest Thing?  
> This is only a contest if more than one person participates (but it may happen that no one participates which is okay but less fun). I want to do a bit where they read fanfiction about themselves, just for some added humor. So, if you would like to write a shortish one-shot kind of fic and then submit it to be at http://uselesspaperclip.tumblr.com/submit with the title "SOTA Fanfic (With The Title Of Your Story Here)" that would be great. Also include your screen name either a.)for this website b.) for tumblr c.) some other form of identification or d.) all of the above if you would like to be credited in the fic! If you don't want to be credited, please also say that in your submission. I don't really have a date for these to be "due" by, but you have a good amount of time. Any type of fic is acceptable as well! It could be an AU, a crack fic, straight-up smut, anything. So long as it is about a maximum of 3,000ish words? If you go over don't worry about it, but if you need a target assume 3,000 or less. Whatever. If you have any questions or anything then come to http://uselesspaperclip.tumblr.com/ask and ask! 
> 
> 3.) To Reiterate  
> I check the comments here and they make me feel REALLY awesome so this is a good place to talk to me about the story. If you wanna come talk to me about anything at all ever then http://uselesspaperclip.tumblr.com is the best place for that. If you so desired you COULD follow me @michelleguldan on Twitter because I am fucking hilarious like for real. :)
> 
> 4.) Thank You  
> Seriously, thank you for reading this piece of crap. I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, but I hope you can forgive me! (Edit: Why didn't you fuckers tell me I'd forgotten the word 'not' god damn it)


	6. "Dicks In The Morning"

Geoff moaned loudly as the alarm rang next to his bed. The early mornings when he couldn’t remember what city he was in always made him wonder why didn’t just get a normal job. But then, if he had a normal job, he probably wouldn’t have ended up with a gorgeous woman in his bed. He shut the alarm off as he sat up. Griffon turned over and looked at him.  


“What are you doing?” she asked, yawning.  


“I gotta make sure the assholes are awake and get them off to an interview in…four hours. You don’t have to get up yet, the show isn’t until eight tonight.” He got up from the bed and went to shower. Today was going to be a long day, he could feel it. 

…

Dan got up out of bed without too much complaint when someone started pounding on his door. A glance at the clock told him it was nearly 7:00 AM.  


“Are you awake?” Geoff called from the other side of the door.  


“Yeah,” he yelled back, blinking the sleep from his eyes.  


“Good. We’re leaving in an hour!” Dan just fell back on the bed. He was so tired of all the interviews and signings and shit. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his job; everyone told him he was living the dream.  


He just wasn’t sure it was his dream.

…

After a few minutes of pounding and shouting Geoff was able to get Ray out of bed. Barbara was already awake, which Geoff was eternally grateful for because he knew getting Gavin up would be absolute hell. He knew Gavin had stolen beer from the bus before he went up to his room, so there was a good chance he would be hungover. He wondered vaguely how Michael felt about sharing a bed with the idiot.  


Their relationship was something strange to Geoff. He’d never seen Gavin be so flirtatious with another person before, at least while he was sober. He wasn’t shy exactly, but he had never had the confidence to chase after a girl as he had done with Michael, at least for as long as Geoff had known him. Back when he had his drug problem, Geoff knew he’d slept around more than what should have been humanly possible. And gender didn’t seem to be of any consideration to him then, so it wasn’t unreasonable for him to like a guy now. It was just strange, how quickly he took to Michael.  


Arriving at the room, he knocked on the door and started calling for Gav. He felt a little rude, as he was probably bothering whoever was in the adjacent rooms, but that was less important than making it to an interview.  


“Gavin! Let’s go! You have forty-five minutes to get ready if you get moving right now!” He waited. And waited. And waited some more. He tried calling his phone, and Michael’s phone. Neither of them answered.  


A maid was pushing a cart down the hallway. Figuring he would have to physically drag Gavin out of bed or something, he stopped her.  


“Excuse me, ma’am? Could you open this door for me? We are on a pretty strict time schedule and my friend doesn’t seem to be waking up.”  


“No, I’m not supposed to do that. You need to ask the front desk,” she said quickly, looking extremely annoyed to be asked a such a stupid question.  


“Oh please, come on. It will take you two seconds to open that door!”  


“No, sir. I can’t do that, it’s against policy.” Geoff groaned. He didn’t want to be bothered with checking with the front desk that yes, he had in fact paid for this room. That would take even more time and Gavin had to at least look presentable. So he pulled out his wallet, and handed the woman what was left over from Disney yesterday, which ended up being about $250.  


“Please, open the door to my friend’s room so I can wake him up,” he said, calmly. The maid looked uncertain, but took the money and slid a key card in the door. It clicked open. “Thank you,” Geoff sighed. The woman just nodded tersely and hurried away.  


He wasn’t sure what he expected to see when he went into the room, but it certainly wasn’t the sight in front of him.  


There were beer cans scattered everywhere. It looked as if they’d drank an entire pack...each. The television was flickering with some sort of paid programming, the volume muted. The bed sheets were a mess, most of them tangled on the floor and some of the lights were on. But the pièce de résistance of the mess before him were the two men in the center of the bed.  


Thankfully, there were both still fully clothed. Geoff wasn’t sure he would have been able to deal with dicks this early in the morning. Michael was laying on his back, one arm slung around the boy on top of him. Gavin looked like a complete harlot. His shirt had ridden up, exposing his dimples of Venus that many a fan had noted as a particularly attractive feature. His fingers were twisted in auburn hair, while his other hand was in Michael’s.Their legs were fully entangled, to the point where Geoff had a hard time distinguishing whose was whose. Gavin’s head was nestled against Michael’s neck.  


“Fuck,” Geoff whispered to himself. Considering his options, he pulled out his phone to take yet another picture of the two assholes asleep on one another. The only difference from yesterday morning was neither of them woke up from the shutter noise, and so he proceeded to take seven more to embarrass them with later. Shoving the device back into his pocket, he grabbed the ice bucket from a table in the room and went into the bathroom. After filling it with water, he walked over to the edge of the bed and emptied the bucket onto their heads.  


They gasped and spluttered for air. Gavin freaked out and screamed, accidentally hitting Michael as he tried to get away from the cold wetness suddenly in his previously warm bed. Michael bolted up, knocked Gavin to the side. He stopped panicking when he noticed Geoff. Annoyance quickly became his foremost feeling. He hadn’t processed the fact that his new boss had just seen him a compromising position for the second time in two days.  


“What...in the ever-loving fuck...was that for?” Michael growled out, pushing wet hair off his forehead. Gavin was still panting and clutching at his chest.  


“Had to wake you guys up!” Geoff said cheerily, sufficiently entertained. “Now, I don’t care what you do for the next few hours, but I need Gavin here to get his skinny ass in the shower as he has an interview in…two hours.”  


“I do?” Gavin asked, finally a bit recovered from the shock. Geoff just nodded at him and dragged him into the bathroom.  


Michael got out of the damp bed, his head pounding. Slowly memories from the night before trickled into his thoughts, bringing heat to his face. The door to the bathroom clicked closed, and Geoff appeared around the corner, and gave Michael a knowing look.  


“You better get rid of that hangover before tonight. I need you ready to go. It is your first show after all.” Geoff said, opening Gavin’s bag to retrieve clothes. Gavin, surprisingly, had a better fashion sense than he did, but he couldn’t let the frontman spend half an hour choosing a shirt after spending his standard half hour on his hair. Lots of people thought he was just unable to keep himself neat-looking, but he really did make it look that way on purpose.  


“Uhm, yeah. I’ll probably call Ryan or something, just to make sure everything is right. But, uh...how much...when you came in…” Michael started, rubbing the back of his neck.  


“Oh, don’t worry. You guys just looked like you’d dry-humped all night,” Geoff responded, a grin spread across his face. Michael groaned.  


“I swear to God, I had no intention to-”  


“Michael, I don’t care what you guys do. But I will tell you right now, I have never seen Gavin so fucking _enthralled_ with another person before. So just...be aware of that...when proceeding with...uh...what you do.” He had started his speech with confidence, at least.  
Michael nodded, and thought about what he’d just said. Gavin was enthralled with him. How could that even be possible?  


“Okay, well. With that out of the way, make sure he is dressed and downstairs in an hour. I have shit to do. Oh, and I’ll tell Jack to find you. He is in charge of you when you’re setting stuff up. He’ll help you find everything and whatever.” And with that, Geoff left the room.  


Michael busied himself with finding clothes, and straightening the room a bit. He heard the shower turn off, and the curtain screech open, followed shortly by the roar of a hair dryer.  


“Hey, Gav?” He called after knocking on the bathroom door. The man inside the bathroom opened it.  


“Good morning, Michael!” He said. His hair was sticking up in every direction, and he was only covered by a white towel around his waist which Michael took note of immediately.  


“Move, asshole. I need a shower.”  


“So take a shower then! I’m not stopping you!” Michael frowned at his coy smile.  


_“Fuck it,”_ he thought to himself, then pushed his way into the small bathroom and pulled his shirt over his head. Gavin stared at him a moment, until they made eye contact and he hurriedly murmured out something about getting dressed. Michael didn’t even bother closing the door before he finished taking his clothes off and got in the shower. The curtain was opaque, but he could still see Gavin’s shadow when he came back in the bathroom to finish doing his hair.  


“Hey, hand me towel,” Michael demanded, turning off the water after a few minutes. He expected Gavin to act like a normal human being and hand him a fucking towel, but that didn’t happen. Instead he threw it into the center of the curtain, so that it fell down on the floor outside of the shower. And since Gavin was going to act like an adult, so was Michael. He slid the curtain open and got out to retrieve his towel, completely unashamed. Gavin was most definitely admiring him, he could tell from the strange embarrassed noises he was making, but he didn’t pay attention to that. “Thanks, boy!” Michael chirped, after wrapping the towel around himself and going back out into the main room.  


Gavin stood at the mirror a moment longer, fiddling with his hair. Michael was absolutely beautiful. He thought vaguely about kissing him again, just striding out into the room and capturing the man’s lips in his own. If he was as confident as his persona, he would. He would tell Michael immediately how he was different from anyone he had known, how his mouth was the softest of the legions he had kissed.  


But he couldn’t, not really. He wasn’t that kind of person, at least not anymore. His mind drifted to wondering whether or not Michael felt the same. He had so little knowledge about the man, and he was constantly thirsting to know more. The feeling was entirely foreign. His previous relationships had been about dirty fucks in back alleys, snorting lines and grinding to flashing lights. Since he’d sobered up no one had appealed to him in that way. Not until now.  


“Hey, Gav. I don’t want Geoff to hate me more than he already does so hurry the fuck up and go to your interview,” Michael called, tearing him away from his thoughts.  


“Oh, right! Coming,” he said back, scrambling to straighten out his clothes. After assuring he had everything he needed, he unlocked the door and turned back to Michael. “I guess I’ll see you tonight then?”  


“Yeah, if not before. I don’t know when I’ll have to be over there or what you’ll be doing so…” he trailed off, looking at Gavin with a strange, questioning look on his face.  


“Uhm, you’ll probably be setting up before I get back so, I might not see you until soundcheck.”  


“Right. Okay, I’ll...see you then.”  


“Okay.”  


“Bye, Gavin.” He hovered at the door a moment longer, before he responded.  


Bye, Michael.” He flashed a forced-looking wide smile before closing the door, and making his way down the hall.  


Still in the room, Michael sighed.  


“Fine, don’t fucking talk about the kiss then,” he murmured to himself before going about packing up his shit. 

…

“Geoff, why did we have to get up so early if we were literally just going to be waiting in this lobby for an hour?” Ray whined, sprawled out on one of the chairs.  


“Because usually you assholes take three hundred years to do anything. I don’t know what made you guys move so fast today,” he retorted , checking his phone for the umpteenth time.  


“So, Geoff. I saw Griffon was with you when you were going to your room last night. How’d that go?” Barbara asked, a cheesy grin on her face. The rest of the band _“ooh’d”_ like teenagers hearing about their friend’s first crush. Geoff looked like he was making a significant effort to keep a stupid smile off his face.  


“Uh, very well. That’s it. That’s all I’m telling you all.”  


“You know you wanna tell me about it,” Gavin said, trying to make puppy-eyes at his manager.  


“No, really. I don’t. I want to share as little of my personal life as possible with you.”  


“Please?”  


“No. Fuck off. We had a lovely time last night. The end. Hey, look! The car is here. Let’s go to your interview, publicity is imperative and all that!”  


“You’re going to tell us about it,” Barb said, as she climbed into the car.  


“No, I’m not,” Geoff replied, finally letting his smile make an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!! If you don't celebrate that than I hope your day is lovely anyway, and you have a lovely holidays! :))
> 
> I already have more written, but I will probably wait a bit to post it because it needs some polishing. To be honest this whole story needs polishing but eeeh whatever. I hope it's going well for you all! 
> 
> In regards to the contest I mentioned last time on End Notes, if I have this planned out properly, you would have about ten more chapters to have them submitted, which could be something crazy like five months if I continue at my current rate. (Oh God I'm going to be writing this until next Christmas gooD LORD you're going to be so tired of me wow) So, write/submit whenever you want. Will give details when they become apparent to me.
> 
> That's it, I think! Have a happy holidays!


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